Ontario’s Sling Sisters are preparing to enter 2026 with their first full-length release, announcing their debut album What I Hope to Find will arrive Jan. 31, 2026, alongside a slate of live dates across the province and beyond.
The Blues-Americana-Country trio—based between Cambridge and Toronto—has also released its lead single, “Chasing Whiskey With A Kiss,” accompanied by a new music video. The track serves as the first public preview of the album’s direction: roots-based storytelling with a polished, performance-forward sound designed around three-part vocal harmony.
The group is led by vocalist and producer Elana Harte, with Suzie B. and Kelly Mulholland completing the lineup. Together, the band describes its musical identity as a mix of grit, groove and heart, drawing from folk and country traditions while keeping a contemporary edge through arrangement choices and production texture.
The new single was recorded at East Iris Studios in Nashville, a departure from the rest of the album’s production approach. “Chasing Whiskey With A Kiss” features an experienced session lineup, including Buddy Hyatt on keys and Brent Mason on electric guitar. While Harte produced and mixed the remainder of the album, the Nashville session was designed to capture a distinct feel.
The band says the result is a playful anthem centred on living in the moment, with a swagger that leans into classic Americana stylings.
Harte framed the broader album project as both personal and craft-driven, emphasizing songwriting and performance as the foundation of the record. “Rooted in a lifelong devotion to craft, I am an artist who puts the song above all else-following the muse, honouring nuance, and building music as an immersive, communal experience,” she shares.
That philosophy, the band suggests, also extends to the group’s internal dynamic. The Sling Sisters describe themselves as family-like in their working relationship, and the production style aims to preserve that closeness. Rather than relying on heavily processed or synthetic sounds, the album is built around real instruments and what the band characterizes as honest performances.
The album’s title track, What I Hope to Find, is positioned as a thematic centrepiece. The song opens with a passage that reflects the record’s focus on movement, self-discovery and determination: “The dust behind my tires / Makes me feel like I’m the only one alive / For at least the last five hundred miles / Since I waved goodbye and started on this drive / Where I belong / Is what I hope to find”.
The band connects those lyrics to its own evolution—moving from individual musical histories to a unified project built on shared ambition and trust.
While the Sling Sisters are now presenting a cohesive identity, the group’s formation was shaped by a series of chance moments. Harte and Suzie B. were part of the same Montreal music circles as teenagers but did not formally meet until years later. The trio came together during a gig in Kitchener when Harte’s duo partner became ill. Suzie B. stepped in, and Mulholland joined unexpectedly from the audience, creating what the band describes as an immediate chemistry that defined the “Slings” sound.
The group says its harmonies are the result of long-standing musical instincts, with each member bringing distinct texture to the blend—from Harte’s experience as an award-winning vocalist and producer to the clarity of Suzie B.’s delivery and Mulholland’s grounded, gravelly tone.
Production on What I Hope to Find also extends beyond Ontario and Nashville. The album features contributions from musicians in New York, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Ukraine, reflecting a collaborative model that pairs a roots foundation with a broad international talent pool. Harte’s mixing approach is described as meticulous, drawing on old-school principles of stereo placement and sonic layering.
Instrumentally, the record stays anchored in traditional roots structures but incorporates less conventional choices, including atmospheric embedded sounds and sparse electric guitar. The band says the emphasis is instead placed on string arrangements and vocal depth, creating space for each part to sit clearly within the mix.
The album’s credit list includes mastering by Joao Carvalho and contributions from international musicians including cellist Ben Trigg and drummer Chris Barber, underscoring the scale of the project behind the trio’s front-and-centre harmonies.
To support the release, the Sling Sisters have announced a run of live performances beginning in late January, with additional Canadian dates and summer festival appearances in development. The band says it is prioritizing venues aligned with accessibility and community, positioning the shows as an extension of the record’s themes of connection and inclusion.
The Sling Sisters tour dates include:
- Jan. 24, 2026 — Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., White Oaks Resort
- Jan. 31, 2026 — Paris, Ont., Paris Pub
- April 2026 — Montreal, Que. (TBC)
- April 2026 — Ottawa, Ont. (TBC)
- Summer festivals in Ontario, Quebec and the East Coast (to be confirmed)
With What I Hope to Find, the Sling Sisters are presenting what they call a statement of intent—built around musicianship, narrative songwriting and the shared power of three voices in lockstep. As the album rollout begins, the group is betting that authenticity and harmony-driven performance will resonate in a market often dominated by fast-moving trends.
